Ryan´s Forecast

upcoming shows you should check out

A$AP ROCKY LIVE AT GREENE STREET CLUB.

In a way, the rapid ascension of A$AP Rocky up the rungs of hip-hop stardom has been predestined. As a baby, he had his diaper signed by none other than Rakim, who had put out two of hip hop’s all-time great albums in the previous years and is looked back upon as one of the greatest lyricists ever. Rocky also bears Rakim’s namesake underneath his nom de plume, bestowed upon him by his hip-hop-loving parents, but although Rakim is about as New York as a rapper can be, the Harlem-born Rocky falls about as far from the tree as an apple can. He’s Houston with the codeine-soaked productions. He’s Cleveland with the stop-and-go flow patterns. He’s Dirty South with the blasé swagger. Basically, he’s a well-crafted pastiche of every hip-hop scene tha’s not his own. He’s a representation of the idea that New York has been giving for decades, and now it’s time for them to take. His acclaimed mixtape succeeds in being flamboyant and sedating at the same time, propelled by shellacked Clams Casino et al beats and gangstarific boastfulness, but above all, it’s just really good. A$AP Rocky comes to Greene Street Club this Friday with Ed E. Ruger & the Iconoclast Crew in support. Doors for the show open at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance and $17 the day of.

A SKAGGS FAMILY REUNION

Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs is in the midst of writing an autobiography and while there will certainly be a sizeable portion on his collaborations with his children, that chapter is still being written. His recordings with children Luke and Molly have been limited to a pair of Skaggs Family Records Christmas albums and guest spots on Songs of Water’s (of which Luke is a member) excellent world-fusion record The Seas Has Spoken, and various

other one-offs. But come Friday at the Carolina Theatre, more silage for the book will present itself. Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder will be joined by Greensboro’s Songs of Water, where Skaggs will offer up selections from his album of devotionals Mosaic and the opportunity to perform alongside Luke and Songs leader Stephen Roach on the record’s stunning “Spontaneous Worship.” Tickets for the event start at $22.50 and the music starts at 8 p.m.

STEVE AOKI? OKEY-DOKEY!

Whoever invented the idiom stating that “Those who can’t do, teach” has never heard Steve Aoki. Though the Lose Angeles DJ and producer extraordinaire only released his first proper studio album a few weeks ago, he’s been helping to foment the electronic music revolution of the last few years since the late ‘90s as the founder of Dim Mak Records. As an entrepreneur, he has been behind the release of music by then-little known dance outfits like the Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Dada Life and dozens of other producers to go along with a few hardcore acts, a scene in which he started long ago. Now, he’s busy promoting himself out on the road in support of his “debut” Wonderland, an album that plays like a mixtape of his own influences with guest spots by the likes of Rivers Cuomo to Travis Barker to Kid Cudi. Unlike past tours, he’s playing only his own music to a stage production that requires two buses and a semi truck to haul around. He’s bringing it to Greene Street Club next Monday, Feb. 13, but don’t expect him to be sequestered behind a DJ booth the entire show. He’ll be pouring champagne, salad or whatever else his entourage doesn’t consume from the green room out on the crowd. Tickets for the show are $35 and Datsik, Autoerotique, Lord Walrus, Thien, Darklove, Phillie Phresh and Erok will be on in support.